Watch: This Proud American’s Multi-Mile Walk To Work Inspires Total Strangers In An Awesome Way

At a time when so many Americans are expecting government handouts — in an era when an increasingly large segment of our citizenry seems all too content to be increasingly dependent on taxpayer-supported welfare — it’s refreshing to see the story of a man who doesn’t have much, yet stands proudly on his own two feet.

More accurately, it might be said that James Robertson of Detroit does much more than stand proudly; he walks unbowed and without complaint to and from work at a machine shop outside of the city, fives days a week, good weather or bad.

So what’s the big deal about walking to work and back home? When your commute is close to 21 miles a day because public transportation covers only a small part of the distance, that’s the big deal — that’s what makes Robertson’s story remarkable.

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And it’s what makes remarkable as well the response of the people who were moved by the Detroit Free Press‘ account of Robertson’s determination and drive.

Hundreds of total strangers from across the country have donated more than $50,000 to help the 56-year-old Detroit resident make that daily commute less grueling — money that can be used to buy a car and pay for gas, maintenance, and insurance.

Several people who were struck by Robertson’s story in the newspaper set up online crowd-funding sites that quickly began to draw generous donations.

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Others, moved by the grit and gumption of James Robertson and his story of day after day, week after week walking extraordinary distances to and from work, offered “their own cars, as well as bus tickets, bicycles and even daily chauffer service for Robertson.”

As challenging, wintry weather closed in on the Motor City over the weekend, James Robertson said he was thankful for the awesome generosity of people whom he had never met, adding that he would head to work as usual early Monday, anticipating his 21-mile walking round-trip to and from a job he loved.

Eyeing the snow piling up around his white-frame house in Detroit, Robertson sounded not a bit worried.

“I’ve had worse. This is reminiscent of those snowstorms last year, and I made it then,” said the man with a perfect attendance record in more than a dozen years at Schain Mold & Engineering in Rochester Hills.

By clicking on the video above, you can watch the segment produced by the Detroit Free Press that helped inspire hundreds of total strangers to step forward and lend a helping hand to a man whose livelihood has been so dependent on his feet…and on his American can-do spirit.